Enter your production costs, CPM rates, and current downloads to instantly see how many listeners you need to cover costs — and how far you are today.
Episode Costs
Current Audience
Ad Slots & CPM Rates
Currency
| Position | Slots | CPM | Revenue / episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total per episode | — | ||
Add what you spend per episode: editing time or outsourced editor fees, royalty-free music subscriptions, guest appearance fees, transcription services, and any other direct production cost. Then enter your monthly hosting fee (Buzzsprout, Podbean, RSS.com, etc.) and how many episodes you publish per month. The calculator spreads your monthly hosting cost evenly across episodes.
Use the 30-day total from your podcast host's analytics dashboard — not per-episode or all-time figures. This is your baseline audience size for the revenue estimate. The progress bar shows how close you are to covering costs with that audience today.
Enter the number of ad slots you run at each position (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll) and the CPM rate for each. Use your actual rate from your ad network agreement or sponsor contract — not industry averages. If you haven't landed sponsors yet, the typical ranges shown as hints give a realistic planning baseline.
The break-even number is the downloads per episode your show needs for ad revenue to cover costs. The progress bar shows your current audience as a percentage of that target. The net line shows whether you're profitable today, and the annual projection shows where you'll land for the year if downloads stay flat.
Note: Downloads per episode ≈ monthly downloads ÷ episodes per month (simplified). For per-episode tracking, use individual episode stats from your host.
It depends entirely on your CPM rate and production costs. At a $25 CPM with one mid-roll ad slot, you earn $25 per 1,000 downloads. To recover a $200 episode budget you'd need 8,000 downloads per episode. Most programmatic ad networks (Anchor, Spotify Audience Network, Acast) require a minimum of 1,000–5,000 downloads per episode before accepting your show. Direct sponsor deals have no floor but are harder to close at low download counts.
Pre-roll (30-second spot at the top): $15–$25 CPM is typical for programmatic; $30–$50 for direct host-read deals. Mid-roll (60–90 second spot in the middle): $20–$40 CPM programmatic; $50–$80+ for niche audience direct deals. Post-roll (end of episode): $10–$20 CPM. Niche shows with highly engaged, defined audiences routinely command CPMs 2–4× higher than general-interest shows at the same download count — because the audience quality matters as much as size.
CPM stands for "cost per mille" — Latin for thousand. A $30 CPM means an advertiser pays $30 for every 1,000 downloads that include their ad. Your revenue per episode = (episode downloads ÷ 1,000) × CPM rate × number of ad slots. Most podcast networks count downloads over a 30-day or 60-day window after release, not all-time; always confirm with your specific network which window they use for billing.
Fewer, higher-CPM slots usually win for listener experience and long-term retention. Three mid-roll ads at $25 CPM each = $75 per 1,000 downloads but risks listener churn. One host-read mid-roll at $60 CPM = $60 per 1,000 but preserves trust. Use the slot controls in the calculator to model both scenarios side by side and see which breaks even at your current download level — then weigh the listener experience tradeoff.
This calculator uses monthly totals for the revenue estimate (since hosting fees are monthly) and divides by episodes per month to estimate per-episode reach. For precise per-episode break-even modelling, use your host's individual episode stats — newer episodes typically have fewer downloads than the catalogue average. The break-even download figure shown is per episode assuming all episodes in a month earn at the same rate.
Requirements vary widely. Spotify Audience Network and similar programmatic networks typically require 100–1,000 downloads per episode. Midsize networks like AdvertiseCast often require 5,000+ downloads per episode. Premium networks targeting enterprise sponsors may require 10,000+ per episode. Direct sponsor outreach has no floor — some sponsors will work with niche shows under 500 downloads if the audience demographic perfectly matches their product.
This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual CPM rates, download counts, and platform fees vary. Not financial or business advice.